The Role of Competition in Structuring Primate Communities under Different Productivity Regimes in the Amazon

PLoS One. 2015 Dec 22;10(12):e0145699. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145699. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

The factors responsible for the formation of Amazonian primate communities are not well understood. Here we investigated the influence of interspecific competition in the assembly of these communities, specifically whether they follow an assembly rule known as "favored states". According to this rule, interspecific competition influences final species composition, resulting in functional groups that are equally represented in the community. We compiled presence-absence data for primate species at 39 Amazonian sites in Brazil, contrasting two regions with distinct productivity regimes: the eutrophic Juruá River basin and the oligotrophic Negro River basin. We tested two hypotheses: that interspecific competition is a mechanism that influences the structure of Amazonian primate communities, and that competition has had a greater influence on the structure of primate communities in regions with low productivity, where resources are more limited. We used null models to test the statistical significance of the results, and found a non-random pattern compatible with the favored states rule in the two regions. Our findings suggest that interspecific competition is an important force driving primate community assembly regardless of productivity regimes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brazil
  • Ecosystem*
  • Models, Biological*
  • Primates / physiology*

Grants and funding

JM was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) fellowship; MP by FAPERJ fellowship, and CEV by Grelle by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) productivity fellowship. JP field work on Negro River region was supported by the Sustainable Development of the Brazilian Biodiversity Program (PROBIO/MMA/BIRD/GEF/CNPq), the Zoological Society of San Diego and the University of Auckland. Field work in Pico da Neblina National Park was funded by grants from the Louis Leakey Foundation, National Geographic Society, National Science Foundation, New York Zoological Society and World Wildlife Fund for Nature. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.